There is an interesting duality with the symphonies composed toward the end of the middle, “Heroic,” period of Beethoven’s creative output. On one hand, there are the dramatic Fifth and Seventh symphonies that have all the elements listeners come to expect in Beethoven’s writing. But these are balanced by the lighter Sixth and Eighth symphonies, which were written the same years as their predecessors. Earlier this season, the Omaha Symphony programmed perhaps Beethoven’s most light-hearted symphony, his Eighth, and it shares the same key as tonight’s symphony - which could be considered his most peaceful symphony.

The Symphony No. 6 was composed in 1808 and premiered in a monumental four-hour concert on December 22 at the Theater an der Wein. The performance featured not only the premiere of this work, but also his Symphony No. 5, Piano Concerto No. 4, and the Choral Fantasy along with excerpts from his Mass in C Major and an improvisation by Beethoven himself at the piano. It should come as no surprise that given the extreme length of the concert, along with the fact the hall was extremely cold, that the performance was not well received. Nevertheless, it speaks to the power of Beethoven’s music that these works have endured and become among the most performed works in the repertory.

Beethoven loved nature and the countryside, and there are letters that reveal the depth of this love, including one from May 1810 that states “How delighted I shall be to ramble for awhile through bushes, woods, under trees, over grass and rocks. No one can love the country as much as I do.” With this Sixth Symphony, Beethoven expresses this perhaps more clearly than in any other of his works, and while the symphony makes multiple references to nature, bird calls, and thunderstorms, his purpose was to convey “more the expression of feeling than tone poem.” Regardless, the Sixth would provide inspiration for future programmatic music such as Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique.

The first movement, titled “Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arrival in the Countryside” musically depicts a rural haven with the very first sonority heard: an open fifth in the lower strings. This sonority accompanies a lyrical melody in the violins that perfectly illustrate Beethoven’s title. Throughout this movement, the use of repetitions of short, melodic passages helps give the music a folk-like flavor. In the development section, Beethoven takes the idea of repetition to the extreme where short, two beat musical ideas are repeated a number of times against a static harmony that helps create a sense of calm. Within these slow, static harmonies are remarkable moments in which the slow harmonic changes produce the impression of openness that one commentator has suggested sounds “as if rays of sunshine unexpectedly peek through a cloud.”

The second movement, “Scene by the Brook,” starts with the imitation of gently moving water in the strings. This imitation is used throughout the movement, at times speeding up, at times slowing down. Against this, Beethoven presents short melodic motives. In the second theme, there are trills in the higher registers that may remind listeners of birds. In fact, in the coda, Beethoven composes a remarkable moment in which he imitates three bird calls, specifically identified in the score: a nightingale (played by solo flute), a quail (played by solo oboe), and a cuckoo (played by two clarinets).

One of the remarkable and revolutionary features of the Fifth Symphony, composed just months before the Sixth, occurs between the last two movements. Beethoven created a dramatic transition that connected them without pause, leading the listener from a state of darkness in the third movement to the brilliance of the finale. In the Sixth, Beethoven goes a step further: the final three movements are presented without pause!

This series of three movements begin with what is essentially the scherzo of the symphony, a movement Beethoven calls “Merry Gathering of Country Folk.” It opens with a quiet, playful melody in three played in the strings before being answered by a more lyrical one in the winds. The trio section is a rustic country dance in two. These two sections alternate three times (A-B-A-B-A) before the final A section is abruptly cut short mid-phrase leading directly into the fourth movement, “Thunder, Storm.”

This movement is perhaps the most overtly picturesque and opens with low tremolos in the cellos and basses, representing thunder off in the distance. Quiet and quick staccato scales in the second violins are played along with melodic fragments in the first violins, creating a sense of foreboding. This occurs a couple of times at the beginning of the movement before the arrival of the storm illustrated through loud tutti chords. Note here the first use of the timpani in the symphony, emphasizing the violence of the scene and distancing it from the tone of the rest of the work. The timpani along with low rumbling scales in the cellos and basses create a marvelous musical depiction of thunder. Throughout this movement, the listener will also hear musical depictions of lightning via sudden and violent chords and sheets of rain through rapid scales.

As the movement and the storm dies away, listen for an ascending scale in the flute - this is the transition into the last movement, “Shepherd’s Song. Cheerful and Thankful Feelings After the Storm.” Unlike the majestic qualities of the finale of the Fifth symphony, this last movement is far gentler in spirit. It features a simple, folk-like melody that simply arpeggiates harmonies. In the contrasting second theme, descending lines in the violins are played against the gentle rocking chords in the winds. This melody features moments of high trills that some commentators have compared to birds reemerging from hiding after the storm. Like in the first movement, we hear the open fifth harmonies, giving the listener a sense of the vast countryside. Everything about this movement, from the musical ideas themselves to their development and the long coda at the end depict peace and joy, making this symphony stand out from the rest of Beethoven’s typically majestic symphonic conclusions.

© 2025, Mathew Fuerst